Calvert Marine Museum

Sharkfest!
Saturday, July 11, 2009

Taking place in early July,  the Calvert Marine Museum focuses on Sharks - both living and fossilized, during its annual Sharkfest! Touch the rough hide of a shark in the shark touch tank. Have your picture taken in the jaws of a Giant Megalodon shark skeleton. Learn the amazing facts about shark habits and habitats. Find a 20-million-year-old shark's tooth in the Discovery Room. The day will include fish face painting, marine games, shark crafts, displays by the Fossil Club, and shark mural painting. All activities free with museum admission

Visit the museum's website at www.calvertmarinemuseum.com

For the past three years, the highlight of the Calvert Marine Museum's Sharkfest! has been the presence of Doug Poole and his Mercury Marine SharkPoole. The SharkPoole gives visitors the opportunity to learn about these amazing predators from someone who has worked closely with them for years. Children thrill at the rough, cold touch of the shark's skin as the shark lies calmly in Poole's confident grasp. They learn how to touch gently, and how important these creatures are to the world's marine eco-systems.

The Sharkpoole is the brain child of Mercury Marine Saltwater Pro-Staff Douglas Poole of Solomons Island. According to Poole, "SharkPoole is a way to teach kids the facts about sharks - not the myths of man-eaters devouring everything that moves. Sharks need our protection and deserve respect." As an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, Poole believes that hands-on experiences are the best way to reach and teach kids.

His appearances at the Marine Museum and local schools have been so well received that he has enlarged the tanks he keeps the fish in, and expanded the kinds of animals he keeps in order to meet demand. Frequently his two children assist him, demonstrating the proper way to handle animals and sharing their knowledge of sharks and stingrays.

Sharkfest! also features Megalodon, the largest marine predator that ever lived whose enormous teeth are prized by fossil hunters worldwide. The Marine Museum Fossil Club turns out in force to share their remarkable finds from Calvert Cliffs - presenting a great opportunity to have your own fossils identified by experts. Face painters provide visitors with the option of becoming, or at least wearing a fish, while craft activities let children create shark necklaces and hats. The Color and Light Society will be on hand to assist in painting a large shark mural in front of the museum. Via: "Sam" Administrator: http://www.atlanticanglers.com/forum/maryland/5876-sharkfest-returns-calvert-marine-museum-consecutive-year.html

 Monique Hailer - OBrien Realty

Websites: Solomons Island Waterfront     Southern Maryland Watrfront

Email: moniquehailer@mris.com   Mobile: (443)532-5407